Ciencia

What Ciencia does

Ciencia, Inc. is a privately held diagnostics developer founded in 2006 and based in Mansfield Center, Connecticut. The company has built the Centinela platform, a point-of-care diagnostic system that uses proprietary GC-FP (Glucose-Fueled Fluorescent Protein) technology to deliver laboratory-quality multiplexed results in under 30 minutes from fingerstick or venous blood samples. The platform's core innovation is the dramatic enhancement of fluorescent signals on disposable sensors manufactured using techniques adapted from CD/DVD production, enabling sub-nanogram reagent usage and low per-test cost. Validated applications include Lyme disease serodiagnostics (90% sensitivity, 100% specificity vs. 60%/100% for standard techniques), simultaneous quantification of antibody titers against 12+ COVID-19 variant proteins, and cytokine quantification panels.

The company is pre-commercial and not yet generating product revenue. It pursues an enterprise partnership go-to-market model, collaborating with academic and clinical institutions including SUNY Polytechnic Institute, UConn Health, Connecticut Children's Medical Center, and the Wadsworth Center to validate assays and broaden the platform's clinical applications. The firm is pursuing FDA approval for clinical diagnostics and is funded through SBIR/STTR government grants and an NIH grant supporting MIS-C biomarker discovery. Leadership includes founder/President & CEO Arturo Pilar, CTO Dr. Ernest F. Guignon, Senior Scientist Dr. William D. Page, and VP of Commercial Operations David Potter. The team is small (1-10 employees) and operations are domestic, targeting U.S. healthcare providers, clinical laboratories, and research institutions across infectious disease, hematology, gastroenterology, neurology, and critical care.

Name

Ciencia

Legal name

Ciencia, Inc.

Website

https://ciencia.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Ciencia, Inc. is a privately held Connecticut-based diagnostics company developing the Centinela point-of-care platform, which uses GC-FP fluorescent biosensor technology to deliver multiplexed laboratory-quality results in under 30 minutes from fingerstick samples for clinical, research, and infectious disease applications.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Point-of-Care Medical Diagnostics

NAICS

In-Vitro Diagnostic Substance Manufacturing (325413), Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516), Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories (62151)

SIC

Services-Medical Laboratories (8071), In Vitro & In Vivo Diagnostic Substances (2835), Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826)

akta.pro primary industry

Point-of-Care & Decentralized Trial Testing Services (HLAGAEAK)

Keywords

• Point-of-care diagnostics
• Fluorescent biosensor assays
• Multiplexed serodiagnostics
• GC-FP technology
• Rapid infectious disease testing

Headquarters

HQ city

East Hartford

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Diagnostic Testing Platform: Pre-commercial stage company developing the Centinela platform for medical diagnostics. Revenue model not yet disclosed as product is undergoing FDA approval process.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Ciencia develops and manufactures the Centinela point-of-care diagnostic platform, which uses proprietary GC-FP technology to perform multiple laboratory-quality assays simultaneously from fingerstick or venous samples with results delivered in under 30 minutes. The company's offerings include the Centinela Lyme Disease Test, a COVID-19 variant antibody titer test, and a cytokine assay panel, supported by disposable sensors manufactured using techniques perfected for CD/DVD production.

Product overview

Ciencia offers the Centinela platform as its core unified product—a point-of-care diagnostic system that performs multiple laboratory-quality tests simultaneously in under 30 minutes using fingerstick or venous samples. The platform integrates disposable fluorescent sensors (manufactured using CD/DVD techniques) with a compact instrument to detect sub-nanogram reagent levels. The product portfolio includes the Centinela Lyme Disease Test (90% sensitivity, 100% specificity), the Centinela COVID-19 Variant Test (quantifying antibody titers against 12+ variants), a Cytokine Assay Panel for multi-analyte detection, and an MIS-C Biomarker Discovery research initiative. The platform targets point-of-care settings across infectious disease, primary care, hematology, gastroenterology, neurology, and critical care applications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Centinela: Breakthrough diagnostic technology platform that brings laboratory-quality testing to point of care, providing results in less than 30 minutes using fingerstick or venous samples.

Products and services

• Centinela Platform A point-of-care diagnostic platform that performs multiple laboratory-quality assays simultaneously using fluorescent signal enhancement on disposable sensors, delivering results in under 30 minutes from fingerstick or venous samples; targeted at healthcare providers, clinical laboratories, and research institutions.
• Centinela Lyme Disease Test A serodiagnostic assay for Lyme disease running on the Centinela platform that demonstrated 90% sensitivity and 100% specificity versus 60%/100% with standard techniques.
• Centinela COVID-19 Variant Test A rapid antibody titer test that quantifies immunity against a dozen COVID-19 variant proteins simultaneously from dried fingerstick blood samples.
• Cytokine Assay Panel A research and clinical application of the Centinela platform enabling quantification of multiple cytokines in various sample types using sub-nanogram amounts of reagents.

Quantifiable outcome

• 90% sensitivity and 100% specificity for Lyme disease detection (vs. 60%/100% standard techniques)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Dr. Nathaniel Cady, SUNY Polytechnic InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Professor of Nanobioscience at SUNY Polytechnic Institute on Lyme disease assay development and COVID-19 antibody studies. Partnership demonstrated 90% sensitivity and 100% specificity for Lyme detection using the Centinela platform.
• Connecticut Children's Medical CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in NIH-funded research grant for identifying biomarker signatures of prognostic value for Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C). Biomarker discovery effort driven by Centinela technology.
• Dr. Michael Lynes, UConncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessor of Immunology at University of Connecticut and early adopter of GC-FP technology. Collaborating on MIS-C, type I diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and toxicant exposure on stem cells research.
• Dr. George Gibson, University of ConnecticutminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessor of Physics at UConn who designed the streamlined GC-FP optical system currently in use in the Centinela platform.
• Dr. David Lawrence, Wadsworth CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessor and Chair of Environmental Health Sciences at University of Albany School of Public Health and Wadsworth Center. Explored GC-FP technology for detection of circulating breast cancer tumor cells, effects of toxicants, and cytokine analysis.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Bio-Rad Laboratories: Bio-Rad manufactures diagnostic test systems and life-science research instruments, including clinical chemistry and immunoassay platforms used in laboratories and translational research settings. Comparable to Ciencia at the intersection of diagnostic platforms and research-use instruments, though Bio-Rad operates at substantially greater scale with an FDA-cleared menu.
• Hologic: Hologic's Panther and Aptima systems serve molecular diagnostics across infectious disease and women's health, with a push into decentralized testing. Comparable to Ciencia's multiplexing thesis at the point of care, but operating at materially larger scale.
• Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD): BD's Veritor Plus System delivers rapid POC immunoassay testing for respiratory and infectious diseases in clinics and hospitals. Competes with Centinela in the same decentralized testing workflow with established hospital contracts and a much broader product portfolio.
• Cepheid (Danaher): Cepheid's GeneXpert system delivers molecular POC diagnostics across infectious disease, oncology, and critical care, comparable to Centinela's POC multiplexing ambition. Cepheid is a much larger, established incumbent with a deep installed base in hospitals and reference labs.
• Siemens Healthineers: Siemens Healthineers offers POC diagnostics (epoc, CLINITEST, RAPIDPoint) used in clinical settings alongside a broad in-vitro diagnostics portfolio. Comparable in targeting decentralized clinical testing workflows with multiplexing aspirations, at far larger scale.
• Mesa Biotech (Thermo Fisher Scientific): Acquired by Thermo Fisher in 2021, Mesa Biotech developed Accula, a palm-sized PCR-based POC diagnostic platform for infectious disease — closely analogous to Ciencia's vision of a compact, multiplexed POC device. Comparable technology category and end-market, though Mesa is now part of a global life-sciences platform.
• QuidelOrtho: QuidelOrtho is a major diagnostics company whose Sofia and QuickVue lateral-flow POC platforms directly compete with Centinela in rapid infectious disease testing (Lyme, COVID, respiratory) in physician offices and urgent care settings. Significantly larger and FDA-cleared across an established menu, but anchored in the same POC diagnostics use case as Ciencia.
• Abbott Diagnostics: Abbott operates leading POC diagnostics platforms including i-STAT, ID NOW, Binax NOW, and Alinity m, addressing primary care, infectious disease, and clinical chemistry at the point of care. Comparable to Ciencia in targeting decentralized testing, though backed by a global sales force and broad menu.

Direct peers

• T2 Biosystems: T2 Biosystems is a small, pre-commercial-to-early-commercial diagnostics platform company developing rapid, direct-from-sample pathogen detection panels — a comparable scale and stage profile to Ciencia with platform-centric diagnostics commercialization.

Emerging players

• Talis Biomedical: Talis Biomedical developed the Talis One molecular POC platform for infectious disease testing, with a similar ambition to deliver laboratory-quality results in decentralized settings. Closely comparable in scale, stage, and technology category to Ciencia.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ciencia